what do you reccomend for 32 yr old, AD or NG?

April 11th, 2013, 02:47 AM

Ok, I'm 32, I have one year left of college. I took a lot of time off in between the years to work and save up money, but that has proven hard to do since I never made that much. In between my college years, I worked for my brother's little construction company, working under the table getting paid laborer wage at a crappy $12/hr busting my ass building and remodeling houses. I felt I wasted a lot of time working in construction, but it def. taught me a lot and made me stronger.

However, now I'm kinda sick of civilian life, working jobs that don't require degrees. I'm sick of my city where I live, that I stopped going out on the weekends drinking with my friends because honestly, it got old quick. I'm very popular here and love partying and my friends, but I'm bored with all of it. I want to finish college of course since I only have a year left. I'm a Political Science major and I started taking courses towards a minor in Spanish and Business as well. The thing is, I never go to travel the country for spring breaks, I would love to do that and see the world. Come on who wouldn't? I

t's also been a dream of mine to be in the Military (My grandfather, and father were both in the Army) but my mother is anti-military since my father came back from Vietnam, all messed up (his best friend got killed while jumping out of the helicopter, and he suffered from PTSD and flashbacks) So my mother was totally against her kids joining the military. I bought into her brain washing, but now at this age, I feel it is my duty to keep up the family line of men serving in the Army and I want to do more with myself. The only thing keeping me in Pennsylvania, is finishing college and i want my degree from Penn State University Main Campus(where Ive been going all these years). That school means a lot to me. I was there when the riots broke out when we got Osama.

Anyway, with this all in mind. I can't decide to enlist with Active Duty Army or National Guard. I love the National Guard convenience of part time that I can finish school, but honestly I think once I join, I'm going to want to be full time. I cant see myself working another crappy civilian job. (Theres not much here in Scranton, its terrible) I'm single so I have nothing holding me back, and the National Guard recruiter told me NG is better when it comes to paying for school than AD. Once I finish school I plan on leaving Pennsylvania ASAP since I feel I been here too long and would like to move to the beach and will ask for a transfer if I join the Guard. I would love to make a career out of the military and I also plan on going to law school so JAG will be on my list. I would also like to know if a DUI, in which I successfully completed the ARD program (i guess its supposed to remove it from my record or something of that nature) will prohibit me from trying out for Special Forces? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

AND gentlemen I do apologize for the lengthy post, however I felt I needed to explain my entire situation to you so I can get the best possible advice.

It has nothing to do with age; it has to do with what is the best fit for your situation. I served in all components and I had an excellent paying job and a degree when I came over to active. At the time, after 9/11, the market was unpredictable for IT jobs, so I felt best to come on active duty than gamble. But when I switched from NG to AD in 2003, I already had over 14 years of service and served on active duty, so that is what makes your case different. But in my unit; there are many "mature" Soldiers who came in the military at a later age. There is this Specialist who is 39 years old. On AD, it is rare to see an old E-4 and below unlike the Guard but it is ok.

AD offers excellent education benefits as well and the Post 9/11 GI Bill is something you can get maximum benefits by serving on AD. While on AD, I earned my master's and the government paid for 95 percent of the bill. No student debt.

On active duty, I have been stationed in Europe and the Far East and it is much different than going overseas while deployed. It is a great feeling serving your country in that capacity and learning a new language and customs. I am trying to go to Korea for next year.

This is a National Guard site and I promote it heavily but from you wrote; you make a good candidate for serving on active duty. You should see an AD recruiter as well to make an educated decision.

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I'd have to agree with the Chief. What you describe and desire is more in line with what AD has to offer... You can still get your schooling done and get a degree on AD. But if the job situation is that bad in PA, why continue to be stuck there after AIT?

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Thank you Chief for the great information, and thank you too jm for your reply and supporting Chief's suggestion. Being that I don't want to stay in PA should've been my decision finalized, but I also thought it would be simple to obtain a transfer to whatever state I move to. After some reading, I picked up on some info. regarding info about having to pay back the aid for schooling and that's just a headache I don't want to deal with. What I liked mostly about the Guard was helping in Natural Disasters, but then I realized PA doesn't really get hit too much with them.

Now that I have my mind set on Army AD, I started looking through possible careers that I want and would love to try out for 75th Regiment.
The setback here is:

1) the Army recruiter told me there are no openings at all except for linguistics(is that true??)
2) Rangers and SF require 20/20 vision or be CORRECTED to 20/20. Does that mean I can get Lasik eye surgery done and not be DQ? I thought surgeries were DQs. Or does corrected mean wearing glasses? If it means I'm allowed to get Lasik, then should I get it before enlisting or can I wait until after I enlist (I rather wait till after)
3) I'm told mixed thoughts about my DUI by people, but they seem to ignore the fact I have an ARD. The ARD program might be just something done in PA(might be called another term in other states), but basically its supposed to be expunged when I completed the ARD program.
4) if I am given the opportunity to tryout for Ranger school (have to do that school to get into the 75th Ranger Regiment correct?) or another type of Special Ops or even Special Forces, should I try to get the 18x mos or should I just take 11b? I want to be totally prepared and will not quit trying out till I get accepted.
5) If I do not get the chance to try out due to my vision and/or DUI... can I pick 11b first for a couple years and then switch to an MOS relating to my previous goals in civilian life such as finance, law, and intelligence?
6) I read about someone in a similar situation and someone advised him that since he was almost done with college that he should just join the Army as an officer being at his age. I would Like to be an officer, but more down the road in my mid to late 40s. Is being an Officer more realistic of what someone almost finished with college should be looking into? Is that the Norm? Can I become an Officer later if I like? I don't want to be like that guy (Lt. M.R. Ring) in the classic movie "Heartbreak Ridge" who was an Officer without prior military experience, but if its the wiser decision...

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6) I read about someone in a similar situation and someone advised him that since he was almost done with college that he should just join the Army as an officer being at his age. I would Like to be an officer, but more down the road in my mid to late 40s. Is being an Officer more realistic of what someone almost finished with college should be looking into? Is that the Norm? Can I become an Officer later if I like? I don't want to be like that guy (Lt. M.R. Ring) in the classic movie "Heartbreak Ridge" who was an Officer without prior military experience, but if its the wiser decision...

If you want to be an Army officer period, you've got until you are 42 to commission. But that is in the National Guard only. Being 32 you are already too old to become an officer in either the Regular Army or Army Reserves. NG would be your only option to be an officer.

So if being an officer period is in your goals and what you want to do, that might make your choices more clear.

Rangers and SF require 20/20 vision or be CORRECTED to 20/20. Does that mean I can get Lasik eye surgery done and not be DQ? I thought surgeries were DQs. Or does corrected mean wearing glasses? If it means I'm allowed to get Lasik, then should I get it before enlisting or can I wait until after I enlist (I rather wait till after)

If you aspire to get into special operations of any sort, DO NOT get Lasik surgery, period. Get PRK instead. I could go into detail here, but instead I'll just tell you that Lasik is likely to permanently disqualify you from a wide variety of special operations units.

If you aspire to get into special operations of any sort, DO NOT get Lasik surgery, period. Get PRK instead. I could go into detail here, but instead I'll just tell you that Lasik is likely to permanently disqualify you from a wide variety of special operations units.

Wow never knew about PRK! Thanks for that advice! Special Ops or the basic Army allow PRK?? I just googled it and saw how PRK is diff. than Lasik. Are you saying don't get Lasik period or do not get any kind of eye surgery (even PRK) period?

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If you want to be an Army officer period, you've got until you are 42 to commission. But that is in the National Guard only. Being 32 you are already too old to become an officer in either the Regular Army or Army Reserves. NG would be your only option to be an officer.

So if being an officer period is in your goals and what you want to do, that might make your choices more clear.

Wasn't a goal, just something I would consider later down the road. Being too old then, that answers that question.

Wow never knew about PRK! Thanks for that advice! Special Ops or the basic Army allow PRK?? I just googled it and saw how PRK is diff. than Lasik. Are you saying don't get Lasik period or do not get any kind of eye surgery (even PRK) period?

PRK is okay. Lasik is a no-go.

I had PRK performed about a year ago and JFKSWC approved my SFAS packet, for what it's worth.

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It has nothing to do with age; it has to do with what is the best fit for your situation. I served in all components and I had an excellent paying job and a degree when I came over to active. At the time, after 9/11, the market was unpredictable for IT jobs, so I felt best to come on active duty than gamble. But when I switched from NG to AD in 2003, I already had over 14 years of service and served on active duty, so that is what makes your case different. But in my unit; there are many "mature" Soldiers who came in the military at a later age. There is this Specialist who is 39 years old. On AD, it is rare to see an old E-4 and below unlike the Guard but it is ok.

AD offers excellent education benefits as well and the Post 9/11 GI Bill is something you can get maximum benefits by serving on AD. While on AD, I earned my master's and the government paid for 95 percent of the bill. No student debt.

On active duty, I have been stationed in Europe and the Far East and it is much different than going overseas while deployed. It is a great feeling serving your country in that capacity and learning a new language and customs. I am trying to go to Korea for next year.

This is a National Guard site and I promote it heavily but from you wrote; you make a good candidate for serving on active duty. You should see an AD recruiter as well to make an educated decision.

Good luck.

Thank you Chief for sharing your experiences. They are quite inspirational to me seeing what you accomplished, and shall always keep that in my mind through out my military career. It will be a great accomplishment for me to finish college and attend graduate school. At the time that I spoke with the AD recruiter, I believe the Army didn't have some kind of tuition aid, but just read somewhere that its been re-instated, which is a perk in my book...

Curious, you said you are trying to go over to Korea. You're Active? Also, are we able to choose possible station locations?
By the way, I hope you get to go over there. It seems like it would be one hell of a place to add to the list.

Curious, you said you are trying to go over to Korea. You're Active? Also, are we able to choose possible station locations?
By the way, I hope you get to go over there. It seems like it would be one hell of a place to add to the list.

As stated in my original post...AD is short for active-duty

Originally Posted by Chief KemosabeIt has nothing to do with age; it has to do with what is the best fit for your situation. I served in all components and I had an excellent paying job and a degree when I came over to active. At the time, after 9/11, the market was unpredictable for IT jobs, so I felt best to come on active duty than gamble. But when I switched from NG to AD in 2003, I already had over 14 years of service and served on active duty, so that is what makes your case different. But in my unit; there are many "mature" Soldiers who came in the military at a later age. There is this Specialist who is 39 years old. On AD, it is rare to see an old E-4 and below unlike the Guard but it is ok.

AD offers excellent education benefits as well and the Post 9/11 GI Bill is something you can get maximum benefits by serving on AD. While on AD, I earned my master's and the government paid for 95 percent of the bill. No student debt.

On active duty, I have been stationed in Europe and the Far East and it is much different than going overseas while deployed. It is a great feeling serving your country in that capacity and learning a new language and customs. I am trying to go to Korea for next year.

This is a National Guard site and I promote it heavily but from you wrote; you make a good candidate for serving on active duty. You should see an AD recruiter as well to make an educated decision.

Thank you Chief for sharing your experiences. They are quite inspirational to me seeing what you accomplished, and shall always keep that in my mind through out my military career. It will be a great accomplishment for me to finish college and attend graduate school. At the time that I spoke with the AD recruiter, I believe the Army didn't have some kind of tuition aid, but just read somewhere that its been re-instated, which is a perk in my book...

Curious, you said you are trying to go over to Korea. You're Active? Also, are we able to choose possible station locations?
By the way, I hope you get to go over there. It seems like it would be one hell of a place to add to the list.

As stated in my original post, yes I am. AD is short for active-duty.

Originally Posted by Chief KemosabeIt has nothing to do with age; it has to do with what is the best fit for your situation. I served in all components and I had an excellent paying job and a degree when I came over to active. At the time, after 9/11, the market was unpredictable for IT jobs, so I felt best to come on active duty than gamble. But when I switched from NG to AD in 2003, I already had over 14 years of service and served on active duty, so that is what makes your case different. But in my unit; there are many "mature" Soldiers who came in the military at a later age. There is this Specialist who is 39 years old. On AD, it is rare to see an old E-4 and below unlike the Guard but it is ok.

AD offers excellent education benefits as well and the Post 9/11 GI Bill is something you can get maximum benefits by serving on AD. While on AD, I earned my master's and the government paid for 95 percent of the bill. No student debt.

On active duty, I have been stationed in Europe and the Far East and it is much different than going overseas while deployed. It is a great feeling serving your country in that capacity and learning a new language and customs. I am trying to go to Korea for next year.

This is a National Guard site and I promote it heavily but from you wrote; you make a good candidate for serving on active duty. You should see an AD recruiter as well to make an educated decision.